


False Fox

by KomodoClassic



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya Césaire Appreciation, Alya Césaire-centric, Alya gets a clue, Gen, Lila Rossi Lies, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Unreliable Narrator, a little since Alya doesn't have all the information, actually no classmate bashing I think, but only like table salt, lots of classmates make minor appearances but I'm not going to clog up all the character tags, ml salt, one (1) background akuma for plot reasons, salt for flavor in a dish with other components
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:39:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28181775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KomodoClassic/pseuds/KomodoClassic
Summary: Alya is having a fantastic time. She's made a lot of friends, the Ladyblog is doing well, and she's even a part-time hero of Paris! If only Marinette and Lila could get along, things would be just about perfect.Then Lila tells exactly the wrong lie to exactly the right person. Lila claims she's Rena Rouge...to Rena Rouge.
Relationships: Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 17
Kudos: 337





	False Fox

**Author's Note:**

> The baseline behavior standards in the Miraculous Ladybug universe are ridiculous, and I underestimated how difficult it is to write fic that matches the show tonally. Everyday life in Miraculous Paris is straight up absurd. Marinette especially is prone to ridiculous behavior, and honestly, I think that’s part of why nobody believes her about Lila’s lies in Chameleon—the way Marinette makes the accusation is so scattered and nuts that she doesn’t even get her point across. 
> 
> Anyway, I thought I’d have Lila take a subtler approach here, and it turns out that’s much easier than writing something that’s closer to the mood of the show. I also wanted to try my hand at a salt fic, because they range from table salt to Dead Sea, and writing it yourself is the easiest way to get one that’s exactly to your taste. This is set before the events of the Ladybug episode, mostly because I didn’t feel like dealing with the expulsion plot. At this point in time, the class has not been turned against Marinette, but they find her behavior toward Lila super weird and unreasonable, and they react accordingly.
> 
> This has not really been edited, and I pulled together plot threads as I went along. Hopefully it’s coherent, but I’ll probably come back later and take a second look.

Miss Bustier dismissed them for lunch, and Alya made a beeline for the back of the classroom.

“Hey, Lila, do you have time to answer some questions for me about Ladybug?” she asked.

Lila straightened up in her seat. “Yes, of course! What would you like to know? How about the time she and I worked together to—”

“Actually,” Alya said, feeling only slightly bad for interrupting, “I have some questions about the Miraculous jewelry and the magic. It’s pretty clear that Ladybug and Chat Noir call up additional heroes when they’re facing difficult akumas, but I was wondering if Ladybug has ever mentioned…you know, the criteria she uses? How does she choose heroes? How did she get chosen? Where do the Miraculous come from, and how old are they, and how many are there, and—”

“Wow, Alya, that’s a lot of questions,” Lila said with a laugh. “How about we go get lunch together, and I’ll see what I can do to answer them? I won’t know everything, of course, but Ladybug tells me a lot. I can easily clear a few things up for you.”

“That would be awesome! Thanks, girl.” They fell into step as they left the classroom together and headed for a café a few blocks away. “Ladybug only has so much time after akuma battles to answer questions, and no matter how many I ask, I always have more. I’d honestly love to sit down with her for a full interview again, now that we’ve seen so many more akumas and heroes. She told me a lot last time, but I only scratched the surface with my questions!”

“Oh, yeah, Ladybug is pretty busy, both in and out of the suit,” Lila said. “I’m lucky that we’re so close, because she doesn’t have much spare time. She’s so sweet, though, and she doesn’t let the power or the fame go to her head at all. She’s still the same girl I know.”

“Yeah, whenever I talk to her, she seems really down-to-earth. She takes her responsibility so seriously, and I admire that a lot.”

“Anyway,” Lila said. “Your questions? It sounded like you want to know more about the other heroes.”

“Yes, actually. I know a lot about Ladybug and Chat Noir, but there isn’t nearly as much information about the others. So, how many newer heroes are actually running around Paris, and how do they get picked?”

“Well, there are the ones we’ve seen, like Rena Rouge and Carapace, but there are a few others, too. I haven’t met all of them, but—”

“You’ve met some of the other heroes?!”

Lila laughed. “Of course! They’re a big part of Ladybug’s life, and so am I! Of course she wanted us to meet. Chat Noir is so silly, and Viperion is really friendly.”

“Wow,” Alya breathed. She’d met Chat Noir too, obviously, but she never would have gotten to know him without wielding a Miraculous herself. It was so cool that Lila had that opportunity as a civilian. “Does Ladybug ever tell you why she chooses specific people?”

“Oh, yeah! I don’t want to tell you too much, in case you know any of them out of the mask, but we talk about it a lot, actually. Want to know a secret? She actually chose Viperion based on my recommendation.”

“No way.”

“Yep! She and Chat Noir needed that power specifically, so she had to pick somebody new in a hurry, and of course I gave her my advice. It’s just my part in protecting Paris, you know?”

“That’s so cool, girl. You’re really a hero, too, and you don’t even have a Miraculous.”

Lila laughed at that, a little loudly. “Yeah! I guess I just…feel that sense of duty, just as much as any hero would. It’s like all my charity work. I just can’t let injustice in the world stand. I have to do something.”

“Actually,” Alya said as she realized something. “Why don’t you have a Miraculous? Ahh, wait, sorry, that sounds so mean, what I meant was—”

“No, I totally get it!” Lila shooed away the apology. “Of course Ladybug would consider me, right?” She sobered. “But Alya, even if I had one, I couldn’t tell you about it. The heroes have to be careful about their identities. Remember how Chloé became Queen Bee in front of everyone, and then she had to give up the Miraculous?”

“Right, right, of course.” Alya knew that. She hadn’t even told Marinette when she became Rena Rouge, though she had wanted to so badly.

“Anyway, you wanted to know how Ladybug got the Miraculous, right? Well, the jewelry is passed down through generations within families. It’s like a secret society!”

Alya’s eyes widened. “Seriously?!” This was totally new information. Ladybug had never mentioned anything like this before. Alya picked up her phone. “Do you mind if I—?”

“Actually, Alya…” Lila bit her lip. “I’d rather you didn’t record this. For everyone’s safety! Yours, and mine, and even Ladybug’s. You see…my family is connected to it, which is why Ladybug and I got so close in the first place.”

“Oh, wow.”

“I trust you, Alya, but you see why it’s important not tell everyone about the secrets of the Miraculous families, right? It could be really dangerous for the heroes’ identities.”

“Yes, of course.” As much as it killed her, Alya set her phone down. “Okay. We’re off the record, then?”

Lila nodded. “Off the record.”

“Okay, so the Miraculous are family heirlooms.”

“Yes. Not all of them are in the hands of families, though. The ones Ladybug chooses are sometimes new.”

“Okay, I _definitely_ want to know more about that.”

Alya and Lila talked steadily throughout lunch, and Alya couldn’t believe just how much Lila knew. She really hadn’t been kidding when she’d said she and Ladybug were close! Alya had wondered about that before—how they had met, when they had time to hang out, how well they knew each other—but if Lila’s family was involved in the Miraculous secret society, that totally explained everything!

0o0o0

On their way back to the school, Alya spotted a new poster of the heroes of Paris and stopped to snap a quick photo. She had to bite her lip to keep from smiling too widely, because this one had Rena Rouge on it.

“Wow,” Lila said. “Ladybug and Chat Noir do a lot for the city, of course, but I’m so glad the other heroes are getting the recognition they deserve.” She smiled softly up at the poster. “Rena Rouge looks really cool here, don’t you think?”

“You know it,” Alya said. “She’s pretty great, huh?” Happiness always bubbled up in her chest when someone complimented Rena Rouge where she could hear. Paris thought she was a good hero!

Lila giggled. “Oh yeah, Rena Rouge is the best!”

Alya blinked. “What about Ladybug, though?”

“Well, Ladybug is my best friend, of course, so it goes without saying that she’s my favorite! But…” Lila bit her lip and looked up at the poster again. “I have a real soft spot for Rena Rouge, too. I think she and I have a lot in common.” She shook her head. “Anyway, we should get going! We don’t want to be late getting back to class.”

They made it back with plenty of time to spare, which meant Alya could upload the shot of the new poster to the Ladyblog’s photo gallery with a short caption about recognition for the other heroes. Being a hero was about defending the city from evil, not about recognition, but it was certainly flattering.

Marinette was already inside the classroom when they arrived, looking up from her sketchbook to greet them.

“Hey, Marinette, check out this poster Alya and I saw during lunch!” Lila gushed.

Marinette accepted Alya’s phone and smiled when she saw it. “Oh, that’s new.”

“Yeah!” Alya said. “I think it’s pretty cool that this one includes Carapace and Rena Rouge.”

“Yes, it’s so nice that the people of Paris are acknowledging how much good the other heroes have done for the city,” Lila agreed. “Who do think looks coolest, Marinette?”

“I think it’s Ladybug, personally,” Alya said.

Marinette smiled. “You always like Ladybug best, Alya.”

“And you always like Chat Noir,” Alya said. “Come on. Tell me you weren’t about to say Chat Noir looks the coolest.”

Marinette’s cheeks turned pink. “Well, you got me. He’s kind of my favorite.”

“Well, _I_ think Rena Rouge looks super cool here,” Lila announced.

Marinette frowned. “Isn’t Ladybug supposed to be your best friend?”

“Of course she is! I’m allowed to like other members of the team too, Marinette. Rena Rouge is a wonderful person, and Ladybug has nothing but good things to say about her.”

Marinette’s face twisted like she’d just sucked on a lemon.

“Marinette?” Lila asked, sounding concerned. “Do you…have something to say about Rena Rouge?”

“No!” Marinette’s eyes widened. “Of course not. Rena Rouge is a good hero, and it’s really brave of her to step up like that when Ladybug asks.”

Alya had to bite down a big smile at that. If Marinette thought she was a good hero, she was definitely doing something right.

“Oh, good,” said Lila. “It’s just that you made such a face…”

“I just remembered something, that’s all!” Marinette laughed, high-pitched and nervous. “It was just super stressful the first night Rena Rouge appeared! That’s it!”

“Well, that’s what marks really challenging akumas, you know,” Lila said, lowering her voice and leaning in a little. “Ladybug and Chat Noir can handle most of them, but sometimes they get to be too much. Even Ladybug has her limits. Rena Rouge picks up the slack when Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t do enough.”

Marinette frowned. “The heroes always work together, though.”

“Of course they do! And teammates cover each other’s weaknesses. I just think Rena Rouge does a really good job of it.” Lila shrugged. “But that’s to be expected from someone who knows so much about the Miraculous, don’t you think?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Marinette asked.

Alya has to intervene before this got too close for comfort. It was impossible, but sometimes Lila said things that almost made it sound like she knew Alya’s identity. “Rena Rouge has been called up fairly often. She probably knows more about the Miraculous than most people, right?”

Marinette nodded slowly. “Right…”

Lila laughed. “Right! Of course.”

Miss Bustier walked into the room and clapped her hands. “Students, please return to your seats,” she called.

Alya looped her arm around Lila’s shoulders for a quick hug. “Thanks for all the answers, girl. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Alya! You know I’d do it anytime.” Lila tossed one of her ponytails and headed up the stairs to her seat.

“All the answers?” Marinette whispered as Miss Bustier began class.

“To a lot of my questions about the Miraculous!” Alya whispered back. “A lot of it was off the record, so I can’t tell you everything, but there is _so_ much more to it than we know!”

0o0o0

“Wow, Alix, that’s so cool!”

Lila’s loud exclamation made Alya look up from her conversation with Mylène. Lila was standing next to Alix and peering down at something in her hand.

“Hey, careful!” Alix swiped the object away. “That’s a family heirloom. I’ve already had it broken once, and I don’t want it to happen again.”

“Ooh, a family heirloom? How exciting!”

“Yeah. It was a birthday present from my dad. It’s been passed down for generations.” Alix smiled down at the watch. “I try to take really good care of it.”

“I totally get it,” Lila assured her. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to my grandmother’s necklace. I keep it really close to me so I always know it’s safe.”

“That’s a little strange,” Mylène murmured. “Lila doesn’t wear any necklaces, does she? Wouldn’t the safest place to keep one be around your neck?”

“I don’t know,” Alya said. “I never notice her wearing jewelry.”

“She has some friendship bracelets,” Mylène said. “And you can’t usually see her earrings because of her hair, but she does wear them.”

“Wow, how did you notice that?”

“I try to notice details. It helps with my acting,” Mylène explained. “Details are where a character can really shine!”

“That’s cool,” Alya said. “I could probably learn a thing or two from you, huh? Details are important in writing, too.”

Mylène blushed. “I think everyone can learn a lot from each other,” she said. “You’re probably right. Details can make or break a narrative, too, and isn’t that what you do to make a news story?”

Mylène and Alya chatted for the entire walk to the river. It sucked that Marinette never wanted to come on small group outings when Lila was there, but on the bright side, Alya was bonding a lot more with the other students from their class. Alya wasn’t the new kid anymore, but she still didn’t have the history most of the class did, and it was really nice to get closer with some of the others.

She still wished Marinette could get along better with Lila, though.

Suddenly, screams down the street made them all go quiet.

“Markov?” Max asked.

Markov flew up above their heads so he could zoom in and get a better view. “It’s an akuma,” he reported. “We should get to safety.”

“Can you see any details?” Alya called up. “What are its powers?”

“It appears to be made out of some kind of metal,” Markov told her. “It may be magnetic. It has an ability to move other metal objects without touching them.”

“Ooh.” Alya pulled out her phone.

“You may not want to get close to this one, Alya,” Max cautioned. “Magnets and computers don’t mix well. Ladybug’s Miraculous Cure would likely fix any damage to your phone, but I don’t know that you would get much footage of the akuma.”

“He’s right, Alya,” Lila said. “It’s not worth the danger this time. We should hide.”

“Can you even run?” Alix asked. “You’re walking fine, but knee injuries are a pain in the butt to run on.”

“I think I can do it,” Lila said. “Besides, you can always go on without me if you need to.”

“Screw that,” Alya said. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

“As much as I hate to disagree, I need to get Markov as far away as possible from that akuma’s blast radius,” Max said. “Let’s head back to the school.”

The group took off back the way they had come. Lila kept up well for a few blocks, but then she stumbled. “Ow, ow!” She limped to a stop. “Go on without me! It’s not safe to stay nearby.”

“I’ll stay with her,” Alya volunteered. “You guys go!”

“You don’t have to, Alya,” Lila said, even as the others started running again. “You should stay with the group.”

“No, girl, I can’t leave you behind. Safety in numbers, right?”

Just then, Ladybug swung by above their heads.

Alya gasped. “She’s leaving the battle! She’s going to get help!”

“Wow, maybe you should see if you can get some video after all,” Lila said loudly. “Maybe if you don’t get too close, your phone won’t be damaged!”

“What’s with the sudden excitement, girl? It’s still just as dangerous now, and you said I shouldn’t before.”

Lila bit her lip. “I…”

But if Ladybug was looking for Rena Rouge, this might be Alya’s only chance to get away. “You’re sure you’ll be okay if I do?”

“Positive.” Lila smiled and touched her throat. For the first time, Alya noticed a necklace chain, almost hidden by Lila’s collar. _So she does wear her grandmother’s necklace._ “Go, Alya. I’ll hide around here.”

“Okay. Stay safe!” Alya sprinted back toward the battle.

She had to stay out of immediate battle range, but she also wanted to be where Ladybug could find her easily. She settled on the mouth of an alley within earshot of the fight, where she could duck out of sight if the akuma came closer.

There was a thump behind her, and she whirled around, bringing her hands up.

“Alya Césaire,” Ladybug said with a smile. “Here is the Miraculous of the Fox, which grants the power of illusion. You will use it for the greater good. Once the job is done, you will return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you?”

“Ladybug, all you have to do is ask,” Alya said, and she reached out to take the jewelry box.

0o0o0

Rena Rouge ducked behind a dumpster to shed her transformation. “See you later, Trixx,” she said softly.

“Bye, Alya.” Trixx darted up to hug her cheek.

“You should get back to school,” Ladybug said. “We’re not too far away, right?”

“Not at all. The other students know about the akuma, too, so it shouldn’t be suspicious that I’m late. Oh! Lila was caught near the battle. Can you make sure she’s okay?”

“I only have a minute left on my transformation,” Ladybug said. “I’m sure she’s fine. The Miraculous Cure should have restored any injuries she sustained.”

“Oh, okay. Well, if you see her—”

“I’ll make sure. Any civilians caught in the crossfire are always a priority for us as heroes. I’ve got to go, but good job today, Alya! You were exactly what we needed. Bug out!”

Alya grinned. Letting go of Trixx was always hard, but being trusted to hold a Miraculous was amazing.

She headed toward the school. It was only a couple of blocks, so the walk didn’t take long at all.

Lila was just starting up the stairs as Alya arrived. “Oh! Alya, I’m so glad you’re okay! Did you get any footage of the akuma?”

“None,” Alya said with a sigh. “Turns out Max was right about magnets. Luckily, Ladybug fixed all the damage. But! Get this—Rena Rouge was there today!”

“Yeah, I saw! She was a huge help,” Lila gushed. “I really think Ladybug should call on her more often.”

“Maybe,” Alya said. It would be really cool. Harder to update the Ladyblog with battle footage, but _so_ cool. “Oh! Did you walk all the way back here?”

Lila laughed. “Ladybug brought me a bit closer while she was away from the battle. You actually just missed her! With her help, the rest of the walk was manageable. Hopefully, I’ll be all healed up soon!”

“That’s good. Seriously, girl, it seems like you’re always injured.” Alya opened the door to the classroom. “Hey, Miss Bustier! Sorry we’re late—we got caught up in the akuma attack.”

0o0o0

“It’s too bad you couldn’t get footage of Rena Rouge,” Marinette said. “I don’t think anybody got video of that akuma, though, did they?”

“One of the news helicopters got some from a distance,” Alya explained, “but the majority of cameras on the scene for the battle got fried by the magnets. There will probably be other battles with Rena Rouge, though. I hate missing chances to get footage of the other heroes, but sometimes it really can’t be helped.”

“I’m sure she’ll show up again,” Marinette said with a smile. “She’s always such a big help to Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

“I know, right?” Lila fell into step on Marinette’s other side. “Isn’t she great? I really wonder why Ladybug doesn’t call her in more often.”

“Well, Hawkmoth is after the Miraculous,” Marinette pointed out. “Maybe it’s dangerous.”

“Hawkmoth is after Chat Noir and Ladybug’s Miraculous,” Lila corrected. “Honestly, I hate to say it, because Ladybug is my best friend and does such a great job of protecting the city, but maybe it would be better if other heroes were the first line of the city’s defense. Rena Rouge and Carapace would make a great akuma-fighting team.”

“Isn’t Ladybug the only one who can purify akumas, though?” Marinette said. “And Chat Noir has the best offensive capabilities. Rena Rouge and Carapace are awesome, but they would have a pretty hard time.”

“Which is probably why Ladybug hasn’t swapped out for a different Miraculous, silly!” Lila laughed. “It’s important to think about all the angles, you know. That’s what makes Ladybug such a good strategist.”

Marinette growled and abruptly turned around, stopping Alya and Lila in their tracks.

“Did I say something wrong?” Lila wondered as they watched Marinette stalk away.

Alya sighed. “I don’t know why she can’t just get along with you.”

“It’s a real shame,” Rose agreed as she and Juleka joined them. “You and Marinette would make such great friends, Lila! You’re both really amazing, accomplished people who care a lot about the world.”

“Yeah, if you joined forces, who knows what you could do?” Alya agreed. They started down the front steps.

“I hope someday she’ll come around,” Lila murmured. Her shoulders slumped. “I love making friends. I just don’t know what I did to her…”

“It’s really out of character,” Alya said. “Marinette is usually the first to make friends. I thought she was just worried about Adrien for a bit, but I don’t know anymore.”

“Well, I’ll give her time to—ahh!” Lila stumbled on the last step and fell, hitting her knees hard.

“Lila!”

“Are you okay?!”

Lila looked up with watering eyes and smiled weakly. “I’m fine, or I will be, just…help me up?”

“That’s not going to help your knee injury,” Juleka noted quietly. She and Alya tugged Lila to her feet.

Alya gasped.

Lila’s necklace had fallen out from under her clothes.

The pendant was a very familiar fox tail.

Lila followed Alya’s gaze and gasped herself. She hurried to tuck the necklace back under her romper and looked around at the three girls with wide eyes.

“Oh my god,” Juleka whispered.

“Lila, are you really…?” Rose asked.

“You can’t tell anyone!” Lila said quickly. “Promise me, please, don’t say anything to anyone!”

Alya was frozen. She couldn’t speak. Her brain kept skipping like a broken record.

_“The jewelry is passed down through generations within families. It’s like a secret society!”_

_“I have a real soft spot for Rena Rouge.”_

_“It’s just my part in protecting Paris, you know?”_

Hiding alone during the akuma attack. Arriving back at the school afterward at the same time as Alya. Friends with Ladybug. A family heirloom.

Was she really saying…?

No. Surely not. Surely there was some other explanation. She couldn’t be saying that…

“It’s okay, Lila! We won’t tell anyone!” Rose insisted. Juleka nodded.

Lila breathed out a sigh of relief. “Alya?”

Alya shook herself. “What?”

“Alya, promise me,” Lila pleaded. “Nobody else can know I’m Rena Rouge.”

Alya’s world stuttered to a stop.

“You?” she whispered.

“Yes, me. Please, Alya, you saw what happened when Chloé’s identity was revealed.”

Lila was lying.

And if she was lying about this…what else had she lied about?

“Of course,” Alya whispered.

Of course Marinette wouldn’t hold a grudge over Adrien this long. Of course she had another reason for disliking Lila. Marinette was good friends with _Kagami_ , for crying out loud.

“Oh, thank you so much,” Lila breathed. She closed her eyes. “This is my biggest secret. I know you know how important it is, but if this got out…I wouldn’t be able to fight Hawkmoth anymore.”

Alya turned and sprinted down the street.

“Alya!” Lila called after her, but Alya didn’t stop. She couldn’t. She needed to get away before she exploded at Lila and revealed her identity.

She needed to get online. She needed to check her sources.

Oh, god.

She needed to apologize to Marinette.

0o0o0

Alya dropped her head onto her desk.

Everything was false.

Lila had claimed connections with dozens of celebrities, artists, athletes, philanthropists, and heroes. She had said she volunteered, played tennis, swam, skied, cooked, painted, acted, played piano, wrote poetry, and traveled the world.

Alya had started with a simple search of Lila’s name. She should have been in the news all over Europe in connection with Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, Prince Ali, Brigitte Macron, and others.

Nothing. The Ladyblog was the only result supporting Lila’s claims.

Lila had promised to introduce their classmates to professionals in all kinds of fields. Reporters for Alya. Filmmakers for Nino. Musicians for Rose and Ivan. Actors for Mylène.

Her mother was employed by the Italian embassy in Paris, but a side-trip onto a series of government websites for both France and Italy had revealed that very few diplomats traveled extensively. Most diplomatic personnel were posted to one country at a time for multiple years. If Lila had been taking fabulous trips with her mother, that was almost definitely an abuse of governmental funds, which would get noticed. The more probable explanation was that Lila had never taken those trips at all.

And then, of course, there was Ladybug.

Lila had claimed she was best friends with Ladybug on her very first day at school. Alya had interviewed her and posted the video to the blog. The timestamp was right there on the page. Alya had had chances to ask about Lila since, but there had always been more important questions when Alya had caught Ladybug with a second to answer them.

Alya lifted her head up just enough that she could drop it back down.

She should have known Lila was lying long before seeing the false Miraculous.

Finally, Alya picked up her phone.

“Hey Alya! What’s up?” Marinette sounded out of breath.

“Hey, girl. Do you have time for me to come over? It’s about Lila.”

There was a beat of silence. Then, “Oh, no. What did she say about me this time?”

Oh, god. That was Marinette’s first reaction? Lila had played the victim, but had she really been saying bad things about Marinette?

“Nothing, nothing at all, it’s not like that. Um, something she said today…didn’t add up.”

“Wait. Really?” Marinette’s hopeful tone broke Alya’s heart for the second time since she had picked up the phone.

“Yeah. And I want to hear your side of the story again.” Or for the first time, since Marinette had never actually finished telling Alya and Nino why she didn’t believe Lila.

“Yes, of course I have time! Right now?”

“That would be perfect.”

0o0o0

Marinette met Alya at the door and bundled her up the stairs with a plate of cookies. When they were seated at opposite ends of the chaise lounge with the plate between them, Alya took a deep breath. “Okay. First things first. Marinette, I think I owe you an apology. I haven’t been listening to you. You’ve been trying to tell me Lila was lying to everyone for longer than I want to admit, and I’ve been totally blowing you off. I am so, so sorry.”

“Alya, I forgive you. You’re still my best friend, through all of this, and it frustrated me that you didn’t listen, but I didn’t exactly do a good job of explaining it, did I?”

“That’s part of why I’m here now. I want to listen. You knew from the beginning that she was lying. What happened that first day? How did you know?”

Marinette bit her lip. “Well, you know the story doesn’t start well. At first, it was about Adrien. I saw Lila getting cozy with him and got worried that she would make a move when I haven’t found the courage, you know? So I watched them in the library, and that’s definitely not my finest moment, but I saw Lila steal a book from Adrien’s bag.”

“What?” Alya gasped.

“I know! So I followed her after school to see if I could get it back. She was going to meet Adrien in the park, and when he arrived, she threw his book in the trash so he wouldn’t see it!”

“I can’t believe her! Who does something like that?”

“Oh, it gets worse. I got closer to see if I could get the book out of the trash, and I could overhear them talking. She told Adrien that she was descended from a fox superhero, and she showed him a fox tail necklace. The thing is, I followed her to the park, right? I watched her go into a jewelry store. I didn’t see her buy the fox necklace, but based on what I saw in the book, which was about Miraculous superheroes…I think she bought the necklace right then so that she could lie to Adrien.”

“That’s crazy,” Alya breathed.

“And then Ladybug showed up.”

“ _What?!_ ”

“Yeah. Ladybug herself appeared and called Lila out for lying about having a Miraculous and being best friends with Ladybug. Honestly, it was pretty harsh of her.”

“It must have gotten to her that Lila was lying about her. Lies about other people are one thing, but that must have felt personal.”

“I guess,” Marinette said. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure that’s why Lila became Volpina. So I knew she was lying from day one, but I didn’t realize how mean she was going to be until later.” She shook her head and picked up a macaron. “How did you figure out she was lying?”

“Well…” Alya obviously couldn’t tell the truth without revealing her identity, but maybe she could stick pretty close to it. “Lila told me she was Rena Rouge.”

Marinette gasped. “No! Really?”

“Mm-hmm. And I would have believed her if I didn’t already know that she couldn’t be Rena Rouge. Remember the magnetic akuma?”

“Uh, yeah, kind of? The one that there wasn’t much video of, right?”

“Right, because strong magnets corrupt electronics. I was out with some of our classmates after school, and we ran back to the school to hide. Lila had a knee injury that slowed her down, so I stayed with her. She wanted to split up, which was kind of weird, and I lost track of her for a bit, but I saw her later. Rena Rouge and Lila were in the same place at the same time, while Rena’s illusions were doing something different.”

“Wow,” Marinette said. Her eyes were wide. “That’s pretty lucky.”

“Yeah. You want to know what’s worse, though? When I thought about it, she’d been dropping hints that she was Rena Rouge. If I hadn’t known it was impossible, I would’ve thought it made so much sense. She planned this.”

“I can’t believe she lied about that to the one person who would know it wasn’t true,” Marinette said. “Is it terrible if I’m kind of happy about it?”

“I don’t blame you for that one bit, girl.” Alya leaned over to hug her. “I’m on your side now. It must have sucked to have nobody believe you.”

“Yeah,” Marinette admitted. “Adrien said he was on my side, but that didn’t make me feel any less alone when he never did anything to help me.”

“Wait, Adrien knows? No, duh, of course he knows, he was there when Ladybug called her out. He’s known this whole time and never said anything?”

Marinette sighed. “Look how everyone reacted when I did. Everyone thinks I’m being totally unreasonable. I’m trying not to blame him for not speaking up. He said we should take the high road and let her lies expose themselves. Although really, I guess that ended up working? You figured it out.”

“Marinette, Adrien is totally allergic to conflict. I love the boy, but he has no idea how solving interpersonal problems actually works.” Alya picked up a cookie and waved it in the air. “Screw the high road. Let’s expose Lila.”

“But then she’ll target you, too. I don’t want that.”

Alya blinked. “Target me?”

“Yeah. She hates me, Alya. She said that if I’m not on her side, we’re at war. She’s trying to tear me apart from all our friends. She’s really good at twisting things I say or being mean without sounding like it, and if I stand up for myself, I look like I’m overreacting.” Marinette swallowed and blinked hard. “Alix and Kim have called me out for it, and Juleka gives me these weird, judgy looks when it happens, and Mylène doesn’t seem to want to talk to me anymore…and I don’t want her to turn our class against you, too. It’s hard, Alya. It sucks.” Her voice wavered.

“Oh, Marinette. I can’t believe this is what you’ve been dealing with, all alone.”

Marinette shook her head. “Adrien knows…”

“And has done nothing. Did you even tell him that she threatened you?”

“Well…”

“Marinette. Adrien hates conflict, but do you really think he’d want you to stay silent when she’s doing this to you? Just lies are bad enough, but pretending to know Jagged Stone isn’t the same as actively trying to ruin your life.” Alya pulled out her phone. “Look. I compiled all the claims I could remember Lila ever making, and I looked up everything I could think of. No evidence for any of it, other than Lila herself on the Ladyblog. I even found out that she probably lied about her trip to Achu, since her mother is an employee of the Italian embassy and likely shouldn’t have been traveling there.”

“You checked your sources,” Marinette said, through the tears that had started to escape.

“I did! And proving a negative is a problem, but the lack of literally any evidence proving the positive is a decent start. Now, we could take this to the class, in hopes of condemning her in the court of public opinion, but that gives her the chance to spin things. Also, the Rena Rouge thing comes down to my word against hers, she does have a necklace that looks an awful lot like the Fox Miraculous, and Rose and Juleka definitely believed her when she said it. We don’t have to discredit her as Rena Rouge in order to expose her as a liar, but honestly, I want to.

“Now, second possibility: take this straight to the administration. Miss Bustier and Principal Damocles. Of course, we run into a couple of problems here as well. Lila has probably had great success lying to them in the past, assuming of course that she actually wasn’t in Achu for that long stretch. I’m pretty comfortable making that assumption at this point, but there’s a possibility that that one was true. Principal Damocles is a huge pushover, and I don’t trust him to make logical decisions after the whole debacle with my suspension. I’m still mad about that. I think the best angles for the school are the truancy and the disabilities, but I don’t have hard proof about either, and on the off chance she’s telling the truth about either of those, our credibility goes down the drain. So, we run into a wall on that front too.” Alya smiled. “Now, you might ask ‘who else can we go to?’ Ask me who else we can go to, Marinette.”

Marinette sniffled and let out a weak giggle. Alya mentally congratulated herself for getting Marinette to stop crying. “Who else can we go to, Alya?”

“Excellent question, Marinette! Option number three is Lila’s mother.”

Marinette’s jaw dropped.

“Yep,” Alya said, feeling slightly smug. “That’s the quickest route to finding out whether she was actually out of the country and if she really does have health problems. Forget the lies about knowing celebrities or even being besties with Ladybug—these are the ones we can actually do something about. If she wasn’t traveling, where was she, and does her mother know she wasn’t in school? That’s the big one, because if it’s not true, Lila’s mom could probably get in trouble for all that traveling on embassy time and money. If she doesn’t have injuries, allergies, or tinnitus that need accommodation, her mother would probably want to know. After that, all of Lila’s fake connections are just window dressing. And, of course, unlike the school, her mother isn’t somebody she can fool by disappearing like she did with us.”

“Wow.” Marinette looked flabbergasted. “You’ve really thought this through.”

“Trust me, girl, I have my head on straight now. I’ve let you down enough when it comes to Lila, and that stops today.” Alya shrugged. “Who knows? I may even ask Ladybug about her next time I get the chance, just to have it on record. That’s a little petty, but after all this, I think we’re allowed some pettiness.”

Fresh tears welled up in Marinette’s eyes, and she threw her arms around Alya, sending the cookie plate flying. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you, thank you. I’m so glad you believe me. Thank you so much, Alya.”

“We’re going to make this right, Marinette. I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> How does Alya track down Lila’s mom? Probably either by calling the embassy (more reasonable) or by following Lila home after school to find out where she lives (more likely).
> 
> I’m actually pretty delighted with this one, because it was not fueled by inspiration. I decided I wanted to write a “Lila pretends to be Rena Rouge” fic, and the inspiration hit later, when I was already 2000 words in. I've been trying to rely less on inspiration as I'm writing, because it can be pretty fickle. In any case, I'm happy with how this turned out, especially since I only spent a week on it.
> 
> As I suspected they might, the Lila anon has shown up in the comments. Please don't interact with them.
> 
> Of course, if you'd like to leave me a comment of your own, it would make my day! You can also find me on tumblr [ here](https://komodoclassic.tumblr.com). I'm a general fandom blog, but I post ML stuff sometimes.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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